Art, obsession, and identity
In the 18th century, it was believed that the ovaries controlled women’s personalities. Removing them would cure any personality issues.
According to Rabbinic literature, where the fetus develops (in one of the uterus’ seven chambers or cells), will determine the sex of the baby. The three on the right are for male babies, and the three on the left are for female babies. If the fetus developed in the middle, the baby would have both male and female features.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, it was believed that menstruation was "a monthly purging of those evil humors."
The belief that women had more porous skin than men goes back to ancient times. Women supposedly had “spongier” skin, allowing them to retain moisture and blood in their breasts.
Eighteenth-century English physician Thomas Denman believed that pregnancy caused women's uteruses to become “irritable,” and consequently influenced women's emotions.
Menstrual blood is not just toxic and dangerous, as according to the 12th-century mystic Hildegard of Bingen, it also has other magical properties. The German abbess believed it could cure leprosy.
Ancient Egyptians believed that fertility was solely a woman's responsibility. This myth perpetuated for centuries across several cultures.
One doctor went as far as advising girls against jump rope, because "it made the feet flat, damaged the lungs, and caused twisting of the bowels as well as chronic headaches."
More specifically, they can heal a man of any venereal disease. This dangerous assumption is still a reality in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa, Thailand, and India.
This belief has been used to justify numerous things, including the once lack of women’s right to vote. It goes without saying that this has been disproved time and time again by the scientific community.
This belief perpetuates to this day, with the likes of Missouri Congressman Todd Akin reinforcing it in 2012. It dangerously asserts that women who are forced to have sex can’t get pregnant because their bodies “shut down.”
This idea persisted throughout centuries. Indeed, 1920's doctor Bela Schick described a supposed menstrual toxin called "menotoxin," which could cause flowers to wilt, among its many destructive powers.
This myth spread in the 1930s, when Tampax introduced the first tampons on the market.
Sources: (The List) ('The Pregnant Imagination, Fetal Rights, and Women's Bodies: A Historical Inquiry') ('Natural History') ('Anatomy and the Doctrine of the Seven-Chamber Uterus in Rabbinic Literature') ('Sex in Education, or A Fair Chance for Girls')
Magnus adds that menstruating women "tend to have epilepsy and leprosy because menstrual matter is extremely venomous."
Harvard professor Edward H. Clarke wrote in his 1873 book ‘Sex in Education, or A Fair Chance for the Girls,’ that women should limit their reading. Failure to do so would lead to irritability and infertility.
In Victorian times, lustful urges were something most exclusively attributed to men. Any expression of desire from women was frowned upon. Queen Victoria herself reportedly told her daughter to "lie back and think of England" on her wedding night.
Author Julia Epstein points out in ‘The Pregnant Imagination, Fetal Rights, and Women's Bodies: A Historical Inquiry’ that “during the eighteenth century, physiologists, philosophers, and medical commentators engaged in a heated debate about whether or not imaginative activity in the minds of pregnant women could explain birthmarks and birth malformations.”
Ivory trade is now illegal, but back in Roman times, it was greatly appreciated. Just as long as women wouldn’t go near it, that is.
Hippocrates, the Greek forefather of modern medicine, also had dubious assumptions about women’s bodies. The Greek physician is credited with identifying a condition he dubbed “hysteria” (which was pretty much anything abnormal in a woman’s physical or mental health).
So, what was the cause for hysteria, according to Hippocrates? Women’s wandering wombs, of course. Yes, it was believed that a woman's uterus roamed all over her body, as if it had a life of its own.
Famed Greek philosopher Aristotle made great contributions to the world, but human biology was not his forte. Aristotle believed that women had fewer teeth than men.
Pliny the Elder really believed menstruating women affected the world around them, including objects. This included dimming the brightness of mirrors.
If women had no urges, there was obviously no room for them to enjoy a bit of self-pleasure in Victorian times. It was probably for the best, as it was widely believed that women who touched their private parts would end up flat-chested.
Pliny the Elder was a Roman philosopher and naturalist. In his encyclopedia Natural History, Pliny describes the “powers'' menstruating women reportedly had. One of them is the ability to kill a swarm of bees by just looking at it!
Thirteenth-century monk Albertus Magnus wrote in De Secretis Mulierum that a woman’s harmful “menstruation fumes” could "poison the eyes of children lying in their cradles by a glance."
Working out is dangerous for women, according to the Berlin Medical Association in the 19th century. Gymnastics should be avoided because it can damage women’s reproductive organs.
According to the Jewish Talmud and philosophers such as Aristotle, breast milk was “menstrual blood that had been heated, coagulated, and whitened by hot air.” This belief survived at least until the Middle Ages.
And, of course, menstruating women should stay away from swords, knives, or anything remotely sharp made of steel.
Indeed, women's bodies have been a subject of inspiration and wonder, but they've also been grossly misunderstood throughout history. While today most myths about women's bodies have been debunked, it's a fact that many odd beliefs prevailed for thousands of years. More often than not, these were detrimental to women, ignorant, as well as blatantly misogynistic.
In this gallery, we revisit some of these beliefs, from ancient civilizations to the Victorian era, and everything in between. Click on to learn more.
Ancient beliefs about women's bodies
Menstruating women could kill swarms of bees, according to the ancient Romans
LIFESTYLE Curiosities
Indeed, women's bodies have been a subject of inspiration and wonder, but they've also been grossly misunderstood throughout history. While today most myths about women's bodies have been debunked, it's a fact that many odd beliefs prevailed for thousands of years. More often than not, these were detrimental to women, ignorant, as well as blatantly misogynistic.
In this gallery, we revisit some of these beliefs, from ancient civilizations to the Victorian era, and everything in between. Click on to learn more.